Home
by Ghostwriter71
Summary: Falling asleep on a bus and missing his stop, a man ends up in Forks for the weekend...poor guy.
1. Chapter 1

**This is an old, old story I wrote years ago for another site. Thought I'd tweak it a bit and post it here. It's an "Alice/OC" type story, with semi non-cannon pairings, regarding Jasper and Alice. I submit it for your enjoyment, dear if you hate "OC" stuff, please don't waste your time reading it. :) And good freaking grief...do I REALLY have to say "I'm not Stephenie Meyer"? As if anyone would think I was. Sheesh!  
**

**Chapter 1**

"Sing now, Seraph, find the calm within your soul.

Bring us closer to the flame that guides us home."

Hey, buddy! Wake up! End of the line!"

I mumbled something unintelligible, and turned over in the seat. A rough shaking on my shoulder roused me. "What?!" I asked, crankily, opening my eyes and squinting against the harsh light of the bus' interior.

"End of the line, Pal!" The bus driver repeated.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "Are we in Seattle already?" I asked, stretching.

The driver scoffed. "Seattle?! HA! We left there over an hour ago! We're in Forks, now...end of the line! Come on, get up! I got a schedule to keep, ya know!"

"Yeah, yeah," I muttered as I reached for my bag and stood. I shuffled to the front of the now empty bus. As my feet hit the pavement, I turned. The driver's words had finally penetrated my foggy brain. "Forks?! Where the heck is that?" But the driver had already shut the door. The bus lurched out into the street as I hollered, "Hey! WAIT!"

As the bus disappeared from sight, I sighed and turned to enter the bus depot of "Forks", wherever that was. I wasn't sure what state I was in. I didn't even remember Seattle. In fact, the last town I remembered the bus passing through was Missoula, Montana. Well, I told myself, that's what happens when you're a wake for two weeks straight! I reached out to open the door. It was locked.

"Perfect." I shook the door to no avail. Setting my bag down, I cupped my hands around my eyes, and peered through the door. No one was around, and it was totally dark inside the tiny building. I stepped back and looked at the door. Printed in big, white letters, it said, "FORKS, WA. BUS DEPOT".

"Depot". Yeah, right. Then I frowned as I continued reading. "Hours: Monday—Friday, 6AM—9PM." I glanced at my watch—11:30. Great. Then, I realized that it was Friday night, which meant I had to spend the weekend here. Better and better. Sighing yet again, I picked up my bag and turned. Time to find a motel.

I had taken no more than five steps before the rain started. I looked up. "You have _**got**_ to be kidding me!" I yelled. Lowering my head, I laughed softly. "This is so cliché." Tucking the collar of my jacket a little closer around my neck, I resumed walking.

After another few steps, I stopped again. Ever have a feeling that you're being watched when you think you're alone? Well, I had it big time right then. I shot a quick glance over my shoulder. A small, slender figure was standing at the rear corner of the bus "depot". But instantly—and I mean _instantly_—it vanished. It was too dark to figure out its age or gender, but for some odd reason, it really unsettled me.

I continued my walk out of the parking lot, and quickly found myself on the main thoroughfare of town. Buildings and store lined both sides of the street, but they all looked dark. I noticed a police station down the street a little way, and headed for it.

Outside the door, I hesitated. A stranger in a small town walking into a police station late at night might raise a few eyebrows. In fact, it sounded like the opening of a joke—"Hey! Have you heard the one about the guy who walked into the place station in the middle of the night?" I grimaced. Still, I figured it was better than a stranger wandering aimlessly around a small town late at night in the pouring rain.

At least it's open, I thought, as I entered the building.


	2. Meeting the kids

OK, folks...here's chapter Two. I have this one all done, and will be posting faster than on my other stories. So enjoy this little story until I can get off my rear and finish my other ones.

Chapter 2 "Meeting the Kids"

I walked up to the desk. There was a bell on the counter, so I rang it. Nothing happened for a few seconds, then a man came out of the back. "Can I help you?" he asked, eying me somewhat dubiously. I could only imagine what I looked like after sleeping on a bus for several hours, and then wondering around in the rain.

"Hi. Sorry to bother you so late at night, but I was wondering if there was a motel nearby."

He snorted. "Only motel around here is closed for the season." He kept eyeing me warily. "Where you from?" He finally asked.

"Chicago," I lied. Truthfully, I didn't really have a "home" anywhere. "Actually, I'm from Ireland, but that was—years and years ago. I've been in the States for a long time now. All but lost my accent."

"What do you do in Chicago?" All right, let's _play_ Twenty Questions. But hey, honestly I couldn't blame him. He was a cop in a small town, and he was just doing his job.

"I work in Sanitation and Disposal." I reached behind me to get my wallet, and saw his eyes and body tense. His hand casually slid down to rest on his sidearm, and I smiled. This guy was sharp. I slowly took my wallet out, pretending I hadn't seen his hand movement, and got my driver's license. I handed it to him, and he looked it over carefully. OK, the disposal thing wasn't totally a lie, if not exactly the truth. I did dispose of un-nice things. And at least my cover was established if he wanted to look it up. There _was _a Sean O'Sullivan working for the Chicago Streets and Sanitation department.

"Oh," he said, nodding absently. "Well, Sean, what brings you out our way?"

"Vacation," I answered, trying to make it as vague as I could. Again, it wasn't _really _a lie. "I remember stopping in Missoula, and the next thing I know, I'm thrown off the bus here."

He looked up from my license, eyebrows raised. "Must have been really tired."

I nodded, and yawned. "We've been putting in lots of overtime trying to get the holes in the streets filled over before the snow flies. Finally got done and was able to use my vacation days."

He stared at me for a few moments, flipping my license against the tips of his fingers absently. Then, as if he'd come to a sudden decision, his face relaxed abruptly, and he smiled as he handed my license back. "Well, let me be the first to welcome you to Forks, then!'' He stuck out his hand. "I'm Police Chief Charlie Swan."

"I'm very pleased to meet you,sir," I replied, shaking his hand. "I don't suppose there's a boarding house in town then either, is there?"

He laughed again, and shook his head. "Nope. Sorry."

"Restaurant?"

Another laugh.

"Not one that's open this late!" He grew quiet, and again regarded me closely for several seconds. Then the smile returned. "Tell you what. Why not come home with me? My daughter's at a—friend's house for the weekend." His face grew thoughtful—almost sad. "And we've got plenty of room."

That was unexpected. "Ah, no, Chief Swan. I can't impose on you like that!"

He smiled. "It's no imposition, trust me. Besides, I can't leave you with a bad impression of our little town, now can I? My shift is over. Let me just close everything down, and we'll go."

Five minutes later, we were driving down the street. "Charlie", as he'd told me to call him, was busy chattering away like we were long lost friends. I smiled and nodded appropriately as he talked, enjoying the open and friendly nature of small town life.

I learned that his only child, Bella (short for Isabella) was getting married in a couple weeks. Reading between the lines, and by his tone of voice, I could tell he was not at all happy with this.

He loved his daughter very much. He didn't seem to care for his future son-in-law-whose name was Edward-though. But he did like Edward's sister Alice a great deal. Edward and Alice's father was a doctor in town. Charlie, if not exactly liking the doctor, nonetheless held him in great respect.

But for some reason that Charlie didn't understand, the Quileutes, who lived on a reservation just down the road, _didn't _like the doctor and his family very much. But they had recently grown to at least tolerate them. OK, I told my self—this is the _other _part of small town living. The gossip part. But then, like I said, I had no home, so who was I to judge?

The Swan's house was a nice, two-story affair. A bit on the old side, but comfortable. Charlie made up the couch for me. As I collapsed gratefully onto it, Charlie wished me goodnight, and told me to make myself at home. At the foot of the stairs, he paused.

"I almost forgot. I'm going fishing early tomorrow with a friend of mine. So don't worry if I'm not here when you get up. I'll probably be gone all day, so like I said—just make yourself at home." He frowned slightly. "I don't know why, but I just feel I can trust you. Well, goodnight!" He headed upstairs. Frankly, I did wonder at his apparently blind trust of a total stranger who, for all Charlie knew, could be some sort of an ax murderer or something. I couldn't help noticing that Charlie seemed to be a lonely man. But I was too tired to give it much thought.

I turned off the light, and sank back onto the couch, sighing deeply. Despite my several hour long nap on the bus, I easily fell asleep again. Had I known what the weekend held in store, I probably wouldn't have slept so well.

"Charlie?"

The voice was soft, whispered. I half opened my eyes. It was still dark. The VCR clock read 4:45AM. I closed my eyes again.

"Charlie!" The whisper came again, a little louder this time. Still I ignored it. Either Charlie was getting ready for his trip and had a woman in the house (which I doubted), or I was dreaming. Or—the house was haunted.

"_Charlie!_" OK, that time it was a hoarse yell, and was accompanied by a hand shaking my shoulder. I groaned, and shifted on the too-small couch. The hand shook me again, harder. The lamp next to the couch was turned on, and light flooded the room. "DAD! Wake up!"

"Dad"? That woke me. I sat up quickly. A slight muffled shriek from close to my ear startled me, and the next thing I knew, I was shoved off the couch with incredible force, and hurled across the room. As I lay in a heap by the wall, I thought—yep...house is haunted! Great.

I picked myself up, and back looked towards the couch. A girl who looked to be about eighteen or so stood there, hands over her mouth with a look of fear and shock on her face. Standing nearly in front of her, in a protective stance, was a boy of around the same age. He looked like he was ready to kill me.

All right...not haunted—daughter and fiancee. Oh, good. An explanation was going to be fun. Not.


	3. A FIGHT IS BROKEN UP BY ALICE

**OK, if anyone's actually reading this, here is CHAPTER THREE…blah-blah-blah: I most certainly am NOT Stephanie Meyer! (And all the Twihards roared back, "That's painfully obvious!")**

A FIGHT IS BROKEN UP BY ALICE

I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Wow! You really pack a wallop, boy!" Then I took a closer look at him. He was pale. _Very_ pale—almost a pallor. And his eyes—they were all wrong...slightly gold, bordering on amber. Then I knew—oh, yes. I knew. But one of them _here_, in Nowhersville Forks? Well, why not? I've run into them just about everywhere at one time or another. My eyes narrowed, and I locked my gaze with his. But the girl—Charlie's daughter-started talking, distracting me. Probably a good thing she did…otherwise, I might have ripped Edward to shreds, and then everything that happened afterwards wouldn't have. But I digress…

"Who are you?" she demanded in a rather squeaky voice. "Are you a burglar? What have you done with Charlie?"

A burglar? Seriously? What kind of burglar robs a place then falls asleep on the couch? "Well, I broke in here, ax murdered him, filled my bag with loot, then lay down to have a nap." I rolled my eyes. "Get real!"

"You'd better answer her," the other one said in a deep, gravelly voice. I guess he was trying to be intimidating. It didn't work. Not that it wasn't intimidating—it just didn't scare me. I merely laughed.

"OK, ok…in all honesty, I missed my bus stop in Seattle, and ended up in this God-forsaken little town. Charlie was kind enough to let me stay here. He said he was going fishing with some friend, so I suppose he's left already."

The girl hurried upstairs, and the—other one moved to block the staircase, keeping his wary eyes on me the whole time. Interesting—it looked like he was actually _protecting _her. This was rare in the extreme! That one of _them _would protect a human.

Then I felt the "bump" in my mind. Why, he actually had telepathic powers? This was growing more and more interesting. I looked at him and smiled grimly. "I hear you knocking, but you can't come in!" I said very softly, yet knowing he'd hear me. This startled him, because he took a small step back, and inhaled sharply. Looking at me even more warily, he narrowed his eyes again.

"You don't smell like a werewolf," he said.

I laughed. "Oh please! Don't insult me."

"Then—what? You're not one of us..." His voice trailed off, and he looked at me questioningly.

"Again, don't insult me," I said. Feeling disinclined to answer his unspoken question, I sat down on a chair and basically ignored him while he continued to stare at me. Neither of us spoke for a few moments. I could hear the girl banging around upstairs. Finally he spoke again.

"I asked you a question—what are you? A new member of the Guard? What?" he frowned. I glanced over at him. I could feel his thoughts—he was calling for help, summoning more of _them_. Oh swell. This was turning into a _great _weekend.

"I'm something that you, with your obviously limited knowledge, can't seem to comprehend," I replied. "But I should ask you the same question. A vampire protecting a human? Why?" And then, a thought struck me. The girl was obviously Bella, Charlie's daughter. Then that meant—UGH! No wonder Charlie didn't like this guy! Humans may not be as aware about such things as they used to be, but Charlie must be able to sense something about this one. Good for Charlie.

"Bella's marrying YOU?! She can't marry one of YOU!" I yelled. This was hitting too close to home for comfort.

"And why not?" A female voice responded. Unnoticed by me, Bella had returned from upstairs. She was standing staring wide-eyed at me, with a hand on his arm, and he was back in his protective stance.

"Stay back, Love. There's something not right about him. He knows I'm a vampire. I think he's one of the Volturi agents that Alice saw, a new member of the Guard or something."

'There's something not right about _**me**_? What about you? What about THIS?" I asked, gesturing at the two of them. A vampire and a human. God in Heaven, what have I walked into?

Edward gently pushed Bella back, and slightly lowered his stance. He was getting ready to spring at me. Handy little tool, telepathy. Because right as he sprang, I shifted slightly…just enough so that his blindingly fast lunge landed him against the wall behind me. He gathered himself quickly, and prepared to lunge at me again. I grinned. This was knida fun!

Bella gasped. She had seen my preternatural shift out of the way, and was worried for her beloved Edward. But just before he could lunge again, a different voice rang out in the room.

"Edward! STOP!" I glanced away from Edward towards the entryway. Another girl stood there. She was petite, fashionably dressed, had short, spiky dark hair, and was looking at me with a somewhat startled or dazed expression on her pixie face. I mean, she wasn't really a pixie—her face just had pixie-like characteristics. And believe me, I would know—those pixies can either be great fun, or the most annoying little buggers this side of Leprechauns!

When I looked closer, I noticed that she, too, had that look of extreme pallor. Though she could pull it off and still look—beautiful. I stopped paying attention to Edward, and just stared at the newcomer, my mouth slightly ajar. Yes, she was _beautiful_! I closed my eyes and shook my head. Of course she was beautiful. What was I thinking? Vampires always look beautiful. Heck, _I'd_ be beautiful if I was a vampire.

Ignoring the girl vampire's advice, Edward lunged a second time. Once again, I moved just a fraction of a second before he reached me, resulting in his having a second meeting with the wall. This time, both females interceded on Edward's behalf. Bella, rushing to his side, said, "Edward! Stop it! Are you all right?" Frankly, I think her sympathies were a little off—the wall was probably in worse shape than Edward was.

Bella helped him up, and cradled his face in her hands. I actually felt nauseated. How could she feel that way about him? Why were females so easily swayed by these creatures? How could my mother have—OK, do NOT go there right now, I told myself.

The female vampire planted her hands on her hips and said, "Edward! I told you to stop!" She gestured at me. "He's _not_ a Volturi guard! He's the—the other one I saw. The one that's come to help us!"

I turned to her, my eyes wide. "Whoa, now! Time out everyone calm down., Just a second here, please. I didn't 'come to help' anyone. I missed my stop in Seattle, that's all. Why would I come and help vampires anyway? In fact, how would I have even known that you all were here?"

She looked at me strangely for a second. Then she turned away, and put her face in her hands. In a sing-songy voice, she began muttering, "It doesn't happen twice! It doesn't happen twice! It doesn't happen twice!" over and over again.

Edward had taken out a cell phone, and was talking to someone in that annoyingly fast way that vampires do. But thanks to telepathy, I could pick out most of his thoughts. He was telling someone—another one of _them—_all that had just happened. He closed the phone, and glared at me. "Carlisle would like to speak with you." The name meant nothing to me. But I gathered that the "fight" was over...at least for now. I also gathered that Edward wasn't too happy about that.

I shook my head in disbelief. "Just how many of you _are_ there?"


	4. Meeting The Family

OK, chapter Four. Not sure anyone is reading this or not, but hey—it helps keep me sharp. As I've said before, I wrote this story years ago..in fact, I wrote it over two months before "Breaking Dawn" came out. Keep that in mind as you get to the end of this chapter. Meeting The Family

Edward lifted his chin defiantly. "Enough for the likes of you!"

"Whatever," I mumbled. The girl vampire (for some reason, I couldn't call her "female"—it sounded too crass) was still holding her head and muttering. I nodded towards her. "Is she all right?"

Edward left Bella, and went quickly to the other girl's side. His look of tenderness shocked me, and it was my turn to gape wide-eyed. A vampire showing genuine affection for another? Something strange was definitely going on here. Bella must have noticed my look. "They're a family—well, an adoptive family. They've been together for decades."

"All of them?" I asked, somewhat incredulously. Bella nodded. I watched in wonder as Edward spoke softly to the girl, rubbing her shoulder. She responded, and they hugged. Then they turned around, and the girl vampire rubbed her eyes like she'd been—crying? Vampire's don't cry—they _can't_ cry This was too much. I sank onto the couch and groaned. "Augh…will someone _**please **_tell me what's going on around here?!"

Edward moved back to Bella, still protective, still watching me closely. "Carlisle will explain. Come on. Alice will drive you." He took Bella's arm gently, and they went outside.

I glanced up. The girl vampire—Alice—still stood in the doorway, watching me, expectantly and somewhat sadly. An amused smile played across her face, although her eyes still held that melancholy look.

"Will you come?" She asked.

I looked away.

"Please?" she added softly.

I looked at her again. She had an almost pleading look in her eyes. My heart melted. What was coming over me? She was a vampire! Why should I feel sorry for her? Not only that, but-—God help me—I _wanted _to help her...if I could.

"OK, I'll come." Yeah—right into a nest of vampires! I stood and picked up my bag, then narrowed my eyes at her. "This had better not be a trick!"

Her cute eyes grew wider, and she held up her hands. "I swear it's not! Carlisle just wants to talk with you! That's all, I promise!"

I shrugged. "All right, lead the way." She turned and walked out the door. I followed. Edward and Bella were nowhere to be seen. Half way down the front walk, I stopped as I noticed the car we were headed for. A yellow Porsche. I whistled.

"Nice car!" I exclaimed as I continued toward it.

She flashed a bright smile. "Isn't it awesome? Edward got it for me!" Edward again. For some reason, he really bugged me. I just couldn't quite figure out why. I mumbled and oath. Alice looked at me from the driver's door.

"What was that?" she asked casually.

I knew she heard me—vampires have great hearing, far beyond the range of humans. "Nothing."

We got in, and I reveled in the sweet sound of the engine, as she started it up and revved it a few times. Then she pulled away from the curb, and all my internal organs jumped into my mouth. Alice drove like an utter and complete maniac. My hands automatically grabbed whatever they could find and held on for dear life. Soon, she turned onto a more countryish road, and I relaxed...a little. She still drove at an incredible rate of speed.

I needed Sinatra. No, that's not a new designer drug or something. Sinatra—Frank Sinatra. "The Voice". When I need to relax, I listen to Frank Sinatra music. And boy, did I need to relax.

I dug a CD out of my bag. "May I?" I asked her. She looked at the CD, and nodded.

"Keep your eyes on the road, please," I said through gritted teeth.

She laughed. It sounded like music. "Nervous?"

"Frankly—yes!"

She laughed again, and slowed ever so slightly. I put the CD in. When the music started, I leaned back and closed my eyes. It was still dark anyway, so there wasn't much to see.

"Strangers in the night/Exchanging glances/Wondering in the night/what were the chances/we'd be sharing love..." My eyes flew open, and I glanced at Alice. She glanced at me, and smiled that smile of hers.

"Heh-heh," I chuckled nervously, and skipped to the next song.

"Lovely/never ever change/keep that breathless charm/won't you please arrange it/Cause I love you/Just the way you look tonight." I mashed the advance button again, and Alice kept smiling.

"Please remember that I still want you..." No, not that one either…

"Wait till you're locked in my embrace/Wait till our lips have met..." NEXT!

"And then I go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like I love you." Well, Frank isn't helping me relax tonight, I thought, as I quickly ejected the CD. Alice giggled like a schoolgirl. Good thing it was dark, because my face felt really hot. What was _wrong _with me?

Soon we turned down a narrow lane bordered on both sides by thick woods. A house came into view. It was very large, and very brightly lit. As we neared it, I saw two figures standing on the front porch. Both were tall, and one was massive. I don't mean fat—I mean _massive_. If he'd been a human, it would have been ...well, massively frightening, no pun intended. But his being a vampire made it worse. I mean, it didn't bother me. I'd seen far worse in my time. But the effect was still intimidating.

The other one...how do I describe him? He looked like he belonged in the movies or something. And he would put any male actor to shame as far as looks go. Watch out, ladies!

Alice pulled up in front, and we got out. She frowned at the two on the porch, but didn't say anything. Massive Man folded his arms across his chest. "Carlisle is waiting," he growled. Alice danced into the house. That's the only way I can describe how she moved. The two males frowned at me. I rolled my eyes as I walked right between them, and they fell into step behind me.

I blinked at the light as I walked in…I have very light sensitive eyes. There was quite a crowd. Besides Alice and my two buddies, Edward and Bella were there. A blonde, ever so slightly older looking male vampire stood near the center of the room. Flanking him were two other females. One was blonde and beautiful. The other had darker hair and was slightly matronly...but-need I say it-still beautiful. And with the exception of Bella and Alice, she was the only one who seemed even remotely friendly. Although the blonde male, whom I assumed to be Carlisle, was more wary than unfriendly. But the others sure seemed unfriendly.

"Welcome. My name is Carlisle," said the blonde male, walking forward slowly, hand extended. I think he was trying to size me up. I sensed the two behind me tense somewhat, ready to grab me if I tried anything. None of them knew what to make of me, that much I could tell. They knew I had telepathy, and could move as fast as they could, but that was it.

"Thank you." I said, shaking his hand.

"Please have a seat." Carlisle motioned to the couch. Alice was sitting there, and smiled brightly, patting the cushion next to her. In alarm, I looked frantically for another place to sit. Anywhere! But all the other seats were taken. I sighed and sat on the couch. Carlisle and the other two females sat on a couch imedeately opposite from the one I was sitting on. My escorts moved around and stood behind me.

"Look, Mr. Carlisle," I began, but he held up his hand and smiled.

"Please, just Carlisle."

"Well, sir," I said, jabbing my thumb over my shoulder, "the Praetorian Guard here isn't necessary."

Carlisle looked genuinely apologetic as he replied. "I agree with you. But my sons feel uncomfortable having a stranger with unknown...abilities in our house." He hesitated. "Perhaps if you could tell us a little bit about yourself, and help us understand what you are doing here, the tension would abate somewhat. You see, we are already in a state of higher anxiety right now anyway. We are expecting a visit from the Volturi at any time."

I scowled. There was that name again. Oh, how I utterly _hated_ the Volturi! Several of us had petitioned the Committee numerous times to have the Volturi eliminated, or at least shaken out of their arrogant superiority. But each request was denied.

Carlisle noticed the look on my face, and seemed to get a little happier. The two females sitting by him exchanged glances with eachother.

"What do they have to do with you all?" I asked.

"To be frank, they don't like us. They feel that both the size of our family and the lifestyle we've adopted are a threat to order amongst vampires. And..." His voice trailed off, and they all looked at each other a few moments. Finally Edward nodded. But to my surprise, it was Bella who spoke.

"They want to kill me," she said quietly. "They don't want humans to know they exist, so several months ago they said that I either had to be turned or die. Now, Alice had a vision that they were coming." I glanced at Alice. So, she had visions. She smiled at me. Bella continued, leaning forward in her chair, fear plain on her face. "The Cullens—the vampires here—they can't keep me safe. And I don't want them hurt." She stopped and looked at me pleadingly. For pete's sake, what did she expect me to do?

"Well, why don't they just turn you then?" I asked casually. Edward moved, like he was going to pounce on me or something. But Bella put her hand on his arm. He visibly relaxed at her touch, but still glared at me. Bella sighed before answering. "That's a long story."

"Look," I said awkwardly. "I think you all must have me confused with someone else. I didn't come here on purpose. I missed my stop and just got stuck here, because the stupid bus station is closed weekends. So I don't know how I can help you. This is just a really bizarre coincidence!"

Alice and Bella looked crestfallen. Edward's glare deepened, and he muttered, "I told you he'd be no help!"

Carlisle leaned forward. "Edward tells me that you have some abilities similar to ours. And you appear to have heard of the Volturi. Yet we can tell that you're not a vampire, as we are. Also—and please do not be alarmed—we can hear your heart beating, and smell your blood. But it doesn't smell completely human. So we're not sure what to make of you." He stopped. All their eyes were on me. I knew they were waiting for some sort of explanation. I rubbed my face, then started to stand.

A heavy hand clamped onto my shoulder, trying to hold me down. I turned, eyes narrowed, and said, "Back off, Muscle Boy! I'm not going anywhere!"

"Emmett," Carlisle said softly. The hand was reluctantly withdrawn. I stood and walked to the window. Dawn was just starting to fill the sky. I lowered my head and sighed. Then I turned to face the expectant group.

"What I'm about to tell you does not leave this room! Is that agreed?" I waited until they all nodded in agreement, some emphatically, some reluctantly. I turned back to look out the window. "Have any of you ever heard the term 'Damphir' or 'Dhampire' before?"

"Yes, I have in fact!" It was Carlisle, and he seemed excited. "But I thought they were just myths."

I laughed at that. "You're a vampire, and you still thought _we_ were myths?" I said, turning to him.

Carlisle chuckled a little sheepishly. "I guess it was silly of me." He looked at his family and explained. "According to the legends I've read, Damphir's are the product of a human/vampire mating."

The blonde female looked confused. "But Carlisle, you said that vampires couldn't reproduce the way we did as humans."

He nodded. "That's why I never put much faith in those particular legends," he explained. Then he looked at me. "Is it true?" he asked, a slight tone of wonder in his voice. Are you really a Damphir?"


	5. Love Is A Four-Letter Word

Here ya go…another chapter. In this one, Alice starts to affect Sean in a way he thought no woman could, and knew that Alice shouldn't be…she had Jasper, right? I told y'all this was an "Alice/OC" story, right? OK. So deal with it. Don't worry; everyone gets a happy ending…happy endings are so bloody rare in the real world that no matter how many bad things happen in my stories, they ALWAYS end happily. Anyway, enjoy (and thanks to the person who, by virtue of following this story, has let me know that at least one person is reading it)! Love Is A Four Letter Word

I nodded. "Yes. And you're right—it is _extremely _rare for vampires to be able to do...that. There are only eight of us, and as far as I know, that's all there's ever been. Also as far as I know, it's only been male vampires that have been able to produce us."

"And what about abilities?" Asked a voice from the back of the room. I looked. Yep, it was Massive Man. But Carlisle answered for me. "From what I've read, they have the same abilities that we do, yet they retain some human characteristics as well." He looked at me.

Again I nodded. "We do inherit our fathers' strengths—the speed, agility, strength, near invulnerability, heightened senses. I'm sure I don't need to keep listing it for all of you." My eyes caught Alice's and I heard her voice in my head. She asked me a question. I smiled and answered out loud. "And in my particular case, I also have telepathy. Actually, my mother had latent telepathic abilities, and my father's nature greatly enhanced those attributes in me."

"In truth," I continued softly, "I think that's what probably drew my father to her. My mother was an outcast because of her gifts. People called her a witch, even though it was nothing she consciously did. I mean, she didn't cast spells or make potions or read tea leaves. She was a hearler, and used herbs and other plants for medicine. But you know how people can be. And that was a long time ago...a _very_ long time ago."

"How old are you?" Asked Carlisle. "Are all Damphirs immortal, too?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. Some of us are-I am. But some seem to age, although at a much slower pace than humans." I smiled. "And to answer your first question, I was born in 307 AD. So I'm 1701 years old." A surprised murmur ran through the room.

"As a child, I knew nothing of what I was. I grew up normally. I couldn't effortlessly move boulders around, or run super fast. But around the time I reached 23 or so, I started noticing things...changes. I could hear people talking a mile away. I could hear them talk without their lips moving. I could track game by their scent, and out run them. And other things, not so nice. To say the least, I was confused. And pretty scared as well. Although I never talked about it—even to my mother.

"But when I hit Forty and still looked like I was in my early Twenties, finally my mother told me about my father, and some other things about her own family. She'd only been 16 when he found her. He didn't stay around very long. He was being hunted. He told her he loved her, and would come back some day, but he never did. I don't know if he was lying or not. At least he didn't kill her. But she's loved him for the rest of her life."

I faced the group again. "Anyway, there are some drawbacks as well. I can go without sleep for weeks at a time, but then I 'crash' and sleep for a couple days. That's why I ended up here. And while I can eat and enjoy human food, I do have to...well, attend to my other nature's needs on occasion. Thankfully, it's usually only a few times a year."

"You mean you have to ingest blood?" this from the "mother". I nodded.

"Crude, but sadly accurate. It repulses me, frankly, but such is life."

The room fell silent. "Anything else you'd like to ask?" No one spoke. I resumed my seat by Alice. Then a soft voice asked, "Can you turn people?" It was Bella, but there were no surprised thoughts. Just resignation...and anger from Edward. I didn't answer. I didn't even look at Bella. But soon I felt everyone's eyes on me again. I looked Bella in the eyes as I answered her. "Yes. Yes, I can. But there are specific rules regarding such an action."

"Rules?" Edward asked, curiosity plain in his voice.

"I am affiliated with a group that tries to ensure humans are protected from—and kept blissfully unaware of-the darker side of nature. We're sort of a counter to your Voltrui. And even more secretive. You all here are the only ones outside of our own agents who know of our existence. Not even the Volturi know—but they suspect that we exist. They've actually lost a few of their 'Guard' to our agents over the centuries.

"We're only allowed to turn humans when they are dying from supernatural causes, which if allowed to be examined by doctors would raise eyebrows. In other words, deaths which cannot be attributed to normal causes. Kind of like damage control."

There were no more questions. Everyone seemed, if not completely satisfied, at least not so distrustful of me anymore. My two friends were no longer standing behind the couch. Several were gathered around Carlisle going over what had just been talked about. Edward and Bella were murmuring quietly but somewhat animatedly in a corner. And Alice—Alice was still sitting on the couch, staring at me intently. A little too intently, in fact. Standing up quickly, I walked back over to the window. It was almost light now.

Trying to ignore Alice, who I could feel was still watching me, I turned my thoughts to Edward and Bella. Why did he bug me so much? Casually, I reached out with my thoughts, and found a mind to read. I think it was Massive Man—I mean, Emmett. A few moments later, I was stunned. Bella _wanted_ to be a vampire? Edward loved her, and didn't want her to be turned. She also loved a –a _werewolf_? Edward and this...dig deeper...ah—Jacob. They hated each other, had both vied for Bella's affections, and Edward had won. Bella was dangerously enamored with Jacob. Jacob's heart was utterly broken, and...the thoughts were coming too fast now, and I broke the connection.

Not fast enough, though. Emmett, thinking I was Edward, told him to stop it. Edward was confused, and said he hadn't been reading Emmett's mind. Finally figuring out that it was me, Edward's head shot over to me, and he scowled.

"Stay out of my family's thoughts!" He thundered in my mind.

I returned the look, and thought back "JACOB!"

Edward staggered a bit, and groaned slightly. Bella, concerned, grabbed his hands and said, "Edward? Are you ok?" Seeing his eyes on me, she too looked over. I turned quickly and headed out onto the porch.

I leaned on the railing, and sucked in deep breaths of the fresh but rather humid air. At least I knew why he bothered me so. Why did human females so often get hooked on vampires? Why? How could they be so stupid?! How many times had I come across this very same thing? Well, minus the werewolf part. It was just hitting too close to home for my comfort. I felt true sorrow for this Jacob guy, whoever he was. I knew exactly how he felt—again minus the werewolf thing. What was _wrong_ with women? My mother, and—

A hand on my arm caused me to jump. I half turned, stepping away from the hand as I did. It was Alice. I relaxed and turned back to the railing. I would have ignored her if I could, but she wasn't about to let me.

"Are you ok?" she asked, the concern in her voice genuine.

What do _you_ care?" I snarled.

She winced. Sadness filled her beautiful eyes, and I immediately regretted my response. I turned and took her by the arms. "Hey, hey—I'm sorry! I shouldn't have said that. I'm just not myself today. That's no excuse, I know, but please forgive me."

I suddenly became aware that I was still holding her arms. The contact was pleasing, and therefore annoying. I instantly let go and stepped back. "Sorry," I mumbled.

The smile returned to her face. "Don't be," she murmured. I swallowed hard, and turned back to the railing.

"Why do you hate Edward and Bella so much?" the question caught me off guard. I turned back to Alice.

"Why? Because I went through the same things this poor Jacob Black is going through!" The bitterness in my voice surprised me. I faced the woods yet again. "It's a long story, but in a nutshell, I was in love with the girl of my dreams. And she loved me. We were going to be married. And then one of them—you—a vampire—came along, and that was it. I begged, I pleaded, but it was no use. I hadn't learned of my history yet at that point, so of course it wasn't until years later that I realized he'd been a vampire. Then I was finally able to forgive her. Forgive them both. But at the time, I was inconsolable.

"My mother, bless her, told me to just walk away. Let her go. That the right one would come along at the right time. But I couldn't. I ranted and raved, spitting fire one minute, then sinking into weeks long bouts of depression the next. And he was so noble, so sincere—like Edward. He let her make the choice." I stopped, my breathing ragged.

"And she chose him," Alice said softly. I nodded. "I thought he stole my only love, the 'one for me'. But in all honesty, he didn't. She _had_ to be with him. Can't fight something like that, can you?" I shook my head. "Poor Jacob," I muttered.

"Have you ever found that again? A love like that?" Alice asked.

Again I shook my head. "No, I gave up on love centuries ago. I spent hundreds of years pinning over a girl I could never have, a love that could never be. Hundreds of years, Alice. What a miserable, pathetic waste of time! When I was finally able to let it go, I swore I'd never leave myself open to that heartbreak again. Ever. And I've kept that promise."

Alice touched my arm. I cringed as she gently turned me around to face her. She didn't say anything, just stared at me with an expression I couldn't quite grasp. What was she doing—trying to see my future? My mind whirled so bad that I couldn't concentrate well enough to try and read her thoughts. After several moments of this, I was blushing.

"Stop that!" I croaked.

"What?" she asked, the picture of complete innocence. I cleared my throat.

"That!" I replied in my normal voice.

"What?"

"THAT!" I exclaimed. "That thing with the face...and your eyes...just stop that!"

"Why?" Her eyes grew wider, rounder, more angelic, more—beautiful.

"Because it's...you-I...it's...I—you...it's...because...I said so!" Oh yeah, Mr. Maturity right there. I tore my gaze away from hers, staring out into the woods, and cleared my throat again. "Well anyway, there's your answer," I said, changing the subject. "I don't really hate Edward and Bella. I just sympathize with the wolf boy. And frankly, I—I'm jealous, ok? I mean, you can't begin to know how lonely it is to go on, century after century, totally alone in this world…well, almost totally alone.

"Oh, I have friends, associates, that kind of thing. But no 'other', no 'One' for me. You have your family, and Jasper—yes, I know about you and him," I explained, in response to her questioning look. "Bella and Edward have each other, the others all have someone—even this Jacob will imprint on someone eventually. But I have absolutely no one. Usually I can deal with it, push the loneliness and emptiness aside. But here, now—I can't handle it! I'm jealous of _all _of you. The love in this house is so strong I can almost see it, smell it! And it drives me _crazy_—not having that, not being loved, having no 'soul-mate' to walk through this unending life with. Do you have any idea how lonely that can be, even when you're surrounded by people?"

I turned to her, sighing. She had another unfathomable look on her face. It looked like understanding, but it couldn't be that. Was it sadness? Sadness for me? Well, Jasper sure was lucky...Alice was a girl beyond my wildest dreams! She had somehow touched my heart like no one else ever had—not even Bridgett, all those long years ago. Gods, what was _wrong_ with me?


	6. Chapter 6

OK, here is chapter 6. Remember—I wrote this well over two months before "Breaking Dawn" came out, so this is a pre-battle with part of the Volturi, NOT the entire coven. B&E aren't married yet, so no Renesme. YES, she will be in it later…this story is only slightly AU, due to Sean's accidental arrival causing things to shift some…

Coming Battle

Alice took a deep breath. "Sean, I have to tell you something. I—" she began, but stopped suddenly, her face frozen, her eyes seeing something else, far away.

"Alice?" I waved my hand in front of her eyes. "Alice?" I repeated. She didn't respond. Worried, I stuck my head in the door. "HEY!" I shouted. "Something's wrong with Alice!" I was almost in a panic. But logically, I knew she must be OK—she was a vampire, after all. They never get sick or have seizures or any of that. So what was wrong?

Bella and the Cullens all hurried out. I stepped back as Carlisle took hold of Alice. Walking to the far end of the porch, I looked at the sky and the trees. I didn't want to intrude. I didn't belong here, and the sooner Monday came, the better. I was fidgety. And confused. Not to mention jealous, angry, depressed...well, you get the idea.

I heard Alice murmuring, and figured she'd come out of whatever it was. I turned and leaned against the railing, watching them. A vampire "family". Never in 1700 years had I seen such a thing. Not like this, anyway.

I heard Massive Man—I mean Emmett—say, "How many?" I couldn't hear Alice's reply, but suddenly she started sobbing, and buried her face in Jasper's chest. I cringed a little at the sight, jealousy surging up inside. Yeah, I know—I was jealous of the little Cullen "family". I ruthlessly beat it back down. Good Lord, Alice was a married woman no less! When had I become such a pervert? Who was I to be jealous of love? Nobody, that's who—just a bitter, pathetic fool whom love had passed by centuries ago. So why was this bothering me so much? I frowned at the floor, confused. Besides, I did have Maria...but that was a different kind of love.

Suddenly, I became aware of Carlisle calling to me. I glanced up. They were all staring at me, except for Alice, who still had her head on Jasper. "Sean, could I talk to you a moment, please? Inside?" I nodded, and entered the house with him, ignoring the stares of the rest of the Cullens.

Carlisle ushered me upstairs and into a room, which was obviously his home office, shuting the door behind us. I smiled at that. With the range of hearing that vampires had, I figured why bother closing the door? They'd still be able to hear us.

"I'll get right to the point," Carlisle began. "Alice had another vision, and it wasn't good. There are ten Volturi coming. We can't fight against that. They mean to finish us off once and for all. They've been growing almost fearful of us, especially after a battle we won with an army of newborn vampires. Of course, we had the wolves helping us then, and the Volturi don't know about that.

"Alice saw herself, Edward, and Bella made virtual slaves of the Volturi. Bella was turned, and it was a horrific process. Bella became addicted to human blood, because none of us were able to help her during her transformation. The rest of us were killed. She did _not_, however, see you in her vision. This is what _will _happen tomorrow. Now, I don't know what abilities you truly posses, and I think you have others you haven't yet revealed to us."

I smiled. "You're a very perceptive man, Mr. Cullen."

Carlisle went on. "And I don't know what is happening between you and Alice, and it's none of my business."

"Nothing," I interrupted. God, what was _with_ these people?

Carlisle looked at me. "I beg your pardon?

"There is nothing 'happening' between me and Alice," I explained. "She belongs with Jasper—they're soulmates, or whatever melodramatic term you all use. Besides, they're married, for crying out loud! What kind of person do you take me for?" I began pacing as I spoke, then forced myself to stop. That wasn't a good sign—I _never_ pace!

Carlisle smiled. "You did say I was a very perceptive man." He leaned forward and changed the subject. "Will you help us?" he asked, a slight pleading tone in his voice.

"Why don't you all just run? I mean, it will take time for them to find you again, won't it?" I knew this was only a short-term solution, at best.

Carlisle lowered his head, a look of pain on his face. "They have a Guard—Demetri...he's the best tracker on earth. He can lock in on your mind, and once he's on to you, he never stops. Besides, Alice saw that if we run, the Volturi will lay waste to Forks in retaliation, and make it look like some kind of natural disaster."

Figures. I _really_ hated these Volturi guys.

"What about your wolf friends? Could they help again?"

He shook his head. "They need to stay ready to defend their tribe if we fail. Which we will. And who knows what the Volturi may decide to do in Forks even after they've beaten us." Carlisle's voice was full of despair.

Now, instead of jealousy, anger flared in my mind. During the very short time I'd been here, I had really come to admire and respect these people—the caring Carlisle and compassionate Esme, proud and somewhat vain Rosalie, easygoing big brother-type Emmett, thoughtful Jasper, Bella—the human who didn't want to be... even Edward. He did truly love Bella—I could feel it.

And, of course, Alice. My little pixie Alice. OK, she wasn't really "mine"—if anything, like I said, she was Jasper's. But, Creator damn me to Hell for all eternity if I let anything happen to her! Or to any of them, really. Now, the anger turned to rage, and I realized I'd better be careful. It wouldn't do any good to lose control now. Maybe later, but not now. And without fully realizing it at the time, I made my decision.

"What's the plan, then?" I simply asked. Relief washed over Carlisle's face as I said the words. "Let's join the others," he replied, opening the door. Everyone else was in the living room. When we walked in, and they saw the eager look on Carlisle's face, they all noticeably relaxed. I hoped their trust in me wasn't misplaced. As they planned for the following day, I realized that I had received no authorization from The Committee for taking any action. But then, our charter _did _allow the use of deadly supernatural force in defense of innocent humans. I had Bella and the entire population of Forks, Washington to worry about, and that was authorization enough, as far as I was concerned.

It was decided that Bella would stay at the house. Edward had wanted to remove her from the area, as they evidently had done before when faced with the newborn attack. But Jasper pointed out that part of the Volturi plan was to capture Bella and turn her for their own purposes. And sending her away would again only delay the inevitable. They'd just keep coming until they found her. It was stand and fight time, and I think they all knew it.

Carlisle would try to reason with the Volturi, though I frankly doubted it would stop them, and said so. But Carlisle, Creator bless him, was a man of peace at heart. Emmett and Jasper would lead the defense, backed up by Edward and Carlisle. Rosalie wanted to be outside, too, much to Emmett's annoyance. He didn't want to be distracted by worrying about her, but she insisted, asking if he knew how hard it would be for her to not be there trying to protect _him_. I had a hard time following that.

In the end it was decided that only Esme and Alice would be inside the house. Their job was to protect Bella, and try to get her out of the house if things went badly.

And me? Well, I was the ace in the hole, so to speak. One of the talents I possessed was the ability to hide my presence from others—kind of like "The Shadow". I could walk right up to someone, and beat the snot out of them without their ever seeing me. But to do that took massive concentration beforehand. And masking myself from ten strong vampires would be harder still.

Suddenly, my stomach rumbled, totally embarrassing me. "Heh—sorry, I haven't eaten since lunch two days ago. I, uh, don't suppose there's any food in the house?" I asked, hopefully.

"No, but I could take you into town to eat," said Bella. She turned to Edward. "I have to warn Jake and the Pack. They really need to know about Alice's vision, so they can prepare. And—I want to see Charlie once more...just in case. He's at Billy's house."

Edward didn't seem too happy with this idea. But suddenly, he turned to me. "Do I have your word that you will keep Bella safe?"

I looked at him in confusion. "What?" I asked stupidly.

He sighed. "Do you promise to keep Bella safe?" He repeated slowly, like he was talking to a little kid. "She wants to go see her werewolf friends, and some of them are not altogether happy about her keeping company with our kind."

"That's an understatement!' Laughed Emmett.

"Well, why don't you just come too?" I asked.

"None of us can go on the reservation." Carlisle explained. "It's a long story, but I made a treaty with them many years ago that if we would stay off their land, they would not attack us."

"Do you think it's safe?" Esme asked. "After all, he _is _half vampire. What will the wolves think? Is that breaking the treaty, do you suppose?"

"I don't think so," replied Carlisle. "After all, he's not one of us, and he shouldn't scare them. But, maybe you should proceed carefully," he said, looking at me. "They can be—volatile at times, prone to 'bite first and ask questions later', as it were."

"You're not instilling me with a lot of confidence here, guys," I said. But I was hungry. Starving, in fact. So I agreed. "All right, Edward. I promise."

He fixed a very intent stare on me. "Are you sure? I am trusting you with not only Bella's life, but my own as well." They gazed at eachother. "Bella is my life...nothing else matters."

Hmm. "What about the rest of your family?" I couldn't resist asking.

"What?" he said, tearing his gaze from Bella's. "Oh...of course my family also! Why would you even ask that?"

I smiled. "Just couldn't resist, I guess." I replied. Then under my breath, I said, "Sap!" He glared at me. This was fun! It was sometimes easier to bug vampires than humans...and more fun, too. My stomach growled again, and this time Edward laughed at me.

"Bella, do you mind if I change my clothes first?" I asked, realizing that I had been in this same outfit for three days. She shook her head.

"And while you're at it, take a shower, too!" Edward told me snidely. "I don't want my poor Bella subjected to _that smell _the whole drive!"

I frowned.

Emmett laughed. "What have you two got against each other?" he said, shaking his head.

I got ready as fast as I could, my stomach complaining the whole time. But it was still about a half hour later before I was ready to go. Bella, Alice, and Edward were all whispering when I came down the stairs, but stopped as soon as they saw me. Suspicious much? There's no better way of saying "We were just talking about you" when someone comes into a room than that...except actually saying it. They all stared at me with looks I could quite figure out. "Ready?" Bella asked. My stomach answered for me, and they laughed.

"Ha! So funny! Go on, laugh at another person's expense. I don't care." I said, following them out to Bella's vehicle. It was some kind of old truck. Edward held the door open for Bella. After she slid behind the wheel, Edward shot a glance at me, and then gave her a passionate kiss. "I'll think of you every minute we're apart, Love," he said.

Good grief. I wanted to eat, not throw up! Edward smiled triumphantly when he saw my grimace. "I still owe you for that Jacob comment," he thought to me.

"Oh, grow up, little boy!" I thought back. That took the smile off his face.

"Be careful, you two!" Alice called as Bella pulled down the driveway. At least, with a truck like this, I didn't have to worry about going too fast...just breaking down somewhere. The thing sounded like it was ready to blow up.


	7. The Boys of La Push

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Here is another chapter. Thanks for the reads, all you who've read…and favourited. Enjoy… The Boys of La Push

Bella was quiet for a long time. Probably thinking over what was coming soon. Not that I wasn't. Like I said, I hoped the Cullen's trust in me wasn't misplaced. There was a real chance that it might be. I did have rare talents, but I'd feel a lot better if some of my associates were here. There were some members of The Committee who could probably take out the entire Volturi coven single-handedly. We could really have used them right about now. And I personally had never encountered any of the "Guard" before, so I didn't really know what to expect.

Suddenly, Bella broke the silence.

"So—who's Maria?" She asked casually. Too casually, which meant there was probably an ulterior motive.

The question caught me off guard. 'How'd you know about her? I didn't tell anyone—Edward! That sneaky little..." I stopped when Bella glanced at me. I sighed. I took a picture out of my wallet and handed it to her. I heard the sharp intake of breath. "She's beautiful!" Bella murmured. I'd never heard Maria described as anything less. Bella recovered, and asked, "Is she your girlfriend?"

'Nope. Daughter." Bella threw me a confused look. "Daughter? But Alice said you never...oops!" Ah-HA! They HAD been talking about me. I knew it. Bella was blushing. I laughed.

"It's ok, Bella. I'd have been more surprised if you all _hadn't_ been talking about me. And Alice is right—I've never been married. Maria is...well, it's a long story. Short version, I found her after her dad had beaten her almost to death in a drunken rage. She was only sixteen. Softy that I am, I broke Committee rules and—changed her. After she adjusted to her new life and I made sure she wouldn't become a liability later, I tried to cut her loose. But after that, every time I turned around I literally tripped over her. No matter where I went, there she was. Finally, I just gave in and let her stay. And she always calls me 'Daddy'. Unless she's upset with me, then it's '_**Sean!' **_She's the closest thing to family I've had for a very long time."

"Aw, that's sweet!' Bella replied, smiling. She looked at the picture again, closer. "Yeah, I can see the vampire characteristics now. She's really pale, for one thing. And way to beautiful for a human. When did you change her?"

"1886."

"Wow!" Bella exclaimed. "You guys have been together for a long time!'

I smiled. "In eternal, undying terms, it's not that long, really."

"Where is she now?" Bella asked.

"She's with some friends in Romania for a couple weeks. I was kind of missing her, but now I'm glad she didn't come with me."

"So you have a daughter. How does it work out? I mean, it obviously has been working out, but what do humans think of it all?

"Well, they either think I'm some kind of freak and dating a 16-year-old, or else they can't believe that a guy in his twenties could have a 16-year-old daughter. Either way, it can get embarrassing. Explanations are _always_ necessary."

Soon we pulled up in front of a little restaurant. Bella said it was the best in town, had a full menu all day, and you could order food to go. She was nervous, and wanted to get to La Push as soon as possible. I went in an ordered a burger with everything, fries and a shake. Yes, I know—so healthy. But what the heck, it's not like it was going to kill me. The service was fast, and soon we were back on the road, heading for La Push.

As I said before, Bella's truck was loud, to say the least. You could probably hear that thing coming ten miles away! At any rate, when a house came into view, I could see four or five guys standing around the front yard watching us. I would have described them as 'boys', if they weren't so bloody tall. One had a bright but sad smile on his face, one had a downright nasty scowl, and the rest merely looked interested. Bella pulled to a stop near them and got out, running over to the smiling one.

"Jacob! You're back!" She cried. They hugged each other. So—this was Jacob. No wonder he looked sad. Bella then turned and greeted the others by name. Scowling Boy didn't respond, but merely commented on how she smelled.

I got out of the truck slowly. Very slowly. I knew how tightly wound werewolves could be, and these were born werewolves...not cursed ones, who couldn't control their transformation. Scolwer shot his eyes over to me. "Who's that?" he growled. Then they all looked. Man, I was really tired of people distrusting me. Still, I couldn't really blame them.

I leaned casually against the side of the truck, and took out my burger,. The smell was driving me crazy, but I had purposefully waited to eat until we came here. I had hoped that, knowing vampires don't eat human food, the sight of me eating would maybe dispel some of their concerns. I took a bite. It was delicious! I took a bigger one. Man. This was the best burger I'd ever tasted! Unless it was because I was starving.

"Bella! You're right—this is great!" I called. I still made no move, just kept leaning against the truck. I quickly finished off the burger, then attacked the fries. They were delicious too. And the shake was beyond description. Bella kept talking with the guys while I ate.

"Sean! Come over and meet Jake!' Bella called. I wiped the grease off my hands (had to wipe them on my shirt, as I had not thought to pick up any napkins), and slowly walked over. Jacob gave me that same look Carlisle had the first time he saw me. One or two of them took a step back, and Scolwy Boy looked angry. Jacob, however, stayed still, which I took to be a good sign.

As I reached them, I heard one whisper, "Go get Sam!" Someone dashed off.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Jacob. Bella's told me a lot about you," I said, holding out my hand. He looked me in the eye, and slowly extended his own hand. Man, he had a strong grip! He didn't speak for several seconds. Finally he said, "You smell funny." He didn't sound mean, or scared or anything...just curious, like he wasn't sure what to make of me..

I laughed "Everyone's been telling me that since I got here. Well, except Bella and Charlie, anyway. The Cullens all told me the same thing, and now you. And I even took a shower before coming out here."

"You've been with Bella's _leeches?_" Scowling One asked. "Well, maybe that explains the smell!"

"Shut up, Paul!" Jacob snapped. He looked back at me. "It's more than that. I can't explain it. You don't smell like a leech, and yet you do. You don't smell like a human, and yet you do. What's the deal with that?"

"Well, that's part of why we're here," Bella said. Suddenly I saw the kid who had dashed off returning with another guy, who was the tallest of this tall group. I figured this must be the top dog—no pun intended again.

Bella glance over at him. "Hi, Sam," she said.

'Sam' nodded. "Bella," he replied, a little stiffly. I could feel the tension in the air. And here I thought I was going to have a nice, quiet weekend sitting at Charlie's house, chilling on the sofa watching TV. Yeah, right.

Sam kept his eyes on me the whole time. Now, no one spoke for a few moments. Then Sam folded his arms across his chest. "Paul, Seth—go patrol, please." Paul grumbled, and shot me one last nasty look before he and another kid ran off. When they were gone, Sam, eyes still on me, said, "You're not human."

Bella spoke. "I know. But he's not a vampire, either. Exactly. I—I hope it wasn't breaking the treaty for me to bring him here. You see, we had to talk with you. Something is going to happen. Something bad."

Sam finally looked at her. "And you want our help? Again? Even after what you've done to Jacob?" His eyes flashed.

"It's ok, Sam," Jacob began, but Sam cut him off. "No, it's not, Jake!" He hissed vehemently. "We all know your thoughts, remember? We know the unbearable pain in your heart because of what she did to you! It becomes _our _pain, too! It feels the same as it does for you! It crushes us, infuriates us, but unlike you, _we_ can't forgive her!"

Bella looked a Jacob, tears suddenly filling her eyes. "You forgive me, Jake? After all I've done? Oh, Jake!" And then the tears came. Sam grimaced as Bella hugged Jacob. He hugged her back, telling her to stop crying, that it was ok.

I felt like I'd walked into some sort of supernatural soap opera.

Finally, Jacob broke the embrace, and gently pushed her away. "You don't want your lee-you don't want _Edward_ to smell me all over you." He half smiled, but I could see the pain in his eyes. I think Bella saw it, too, because she cringed. Again.

Sam was back to glowering at me. But he was speaking to Bella. "What do you mean, he's not a parasite—_**exactly**_? How can you not _exactly_ be one?" Man, how many times was I going to have to explain this? Maybe I should just greet people with, "Hello, my name is Sean, and I'm a freak!" Frankly, after 1700 years, even I didn't understand the mechanics of what I really was. Bella was trying to explain it.

"His dad was a vampire, and his mother was human." Jacob raised his eyebrows. "I didn't know they could do that!" But Bella went on. "Guys, this isn't really important right now! I have to tell you about tomorrow." She paused, fear plain on her face. Jacob took her hand. "Hey, Bells—what's wrong? What about tomorrow?"

Bella gulped to keep from crying again. "The Volturi," she gasped. "They're coming—ten of them! Strong ones. Alice had another vision, and it—it was b-bad!" Her lips trembled. Jacob hugged her again. Sam _still_ stared at me, and it was becoming annoying. "So you _do_ want our help!" Sam said, sneering.

"No, they want you to stay here and be ready to defend your tribe," I broke in. "Edward didn't want Bella to come tell you, but Bella insisted." I was speaking with a cold voice now, eyes narrowed and fixed on Sam. "So you should be grateful to her, and quit treating her like dirt. She didn't mean for _any_ of this to happen. Sometimes, fate steps in, life sucks, and there's nothing you can do except put your big-boy pants on and man up. _**I**_ wanted a nice vacation, but got stuck here. Then, I just wanted a quiet, boring weekend sitting around Charlie's house waiting for Monday, and now I've gotta fight a bunch of nasty killers, while dealing with suspicious vampires and paranoid werewolves!"

By this time, my voice had risen to a near yell. Sam looked at me wide-eyed, as did Jacob. But then, Jacob suddenly laughed, breaking the tension. He looked at Sam. "He's right. We can't blame Bella. Life does just sucks sometimes, you know? You have to play the cards you're dealt, take a deep breath, and go on." Wow...Jacob sure had a good head on his shoulders. The boy had some depth to him.

Sam stood silent. Then he nodded. He turned to Bella. "Sorry. Jake's right. Thanks for warning us." He looked at Jacob. "Let's get the others together and plan." He turned and strode away. Bella looked at Jacob. "Jake, is Charlie still here?' Jacob nodded.

"He and dad are watching a game. Actually, a re-run of a game from last night. Dad taped it because he knew Charlie wouldn't be able to watch it. He'll be here all day, probably."

"Do you think...is there any way Billy could get him to stay here through tomorrow?" She paused, and looked up at Jacob. "This is going to be bad, Jake," she whispered. "Really bad."

"I should be there with you, Bella. To protect you!" But Bella shook her head.

"No, Jake...you need to be here to protect your people. The pack needs you. And if the Cullens and Sean can't protect me, then you couldn't, either, and I'd lose _everyone _I love!" She turned towards the house. "I've got to tell Charlie goodbye," she said, hurrying inside.

Jacob turned to me. "A half leech, half human. Huh. Never heard of that before. Is it hard to live with yourself, or what?"

I smiled coldly. "Very," I replied. "But if it makes you feel any better, I've killed many 'leeches' in my life."

He smiled. "Not really. So have the Cullens. And those Volturi have, too. Even I've killed a few."

"I've also killed some werewolves." I went on. Jacob scowled at that. "And humans. And even lots of things that don't fit any of those three categories."

"Huh," was all he said.

I relaxed a little. "But I can relate to you on one thing, Jacob. I lost my only love to a vampire." I turned serious. "I know you don't know me, and so you probably don't care if I have any advice for you. But I will say this. I've spent the better part of 1700 years moping over a girl I could never have. And trust me, it's a waste. A waste, Jacob! Don't let yourself get sucked into that trap, too. Believe me on that."

Jacob looked at me silently for a moment or two. He finally said, "No I don't want any advice from you!" Then he added, "But thanks. I'll think about it." Bella came back out of the house, and hugged Jacob again. "Bye, Jake! I hope I'll see you again."

"Bye, Bells," Jacob replied. "Be safe. I-Ilove you. Just don't tell _Edward_ I said that!"

Bella smiled sadly. "He already knows, Jake. And I love you, too." Bella turned and headed for the truck. I turned to follow her, but Jacob stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Hey—you take care of her, ok? Promise me!"

Oh brother…here we go again. Bella has guys flocking around her! What is it about her that attracts them so? I mean, she's a sweet kid and all, and certainly not ugly, but what the heck?

I nodded. "I promise you, Jacob. Funny, but Edward said the same thing before we came over here." I shook his hand. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Jacob Black. Take care." I joined Bella in the truck

"What did Jake want?" She asked.

I looked at her sadly. "The same thing Edward does. You. And for you to be safe."

And, for _me_ to make sure of it, I thought. But I didn't say that to her. Good grief, what was a guy supposed to do?


	8. The Fight

**A/N: OK, here's the "big fight" scene. Sorry if it's rushed, but it's an old story, and I didn't gfeel like adding tons of detail to it. And again—remember that this was written before "Breaking Dawn" was released, so it's just straight out of my head, and not a bit of copying was done. And seriously—does EVERY chapter have to have a disclaimer? Is that like a requirement or something? IF I was making money with this, WHY would it be on "Fanfiction"? (So no, I'm not…and I only "own" Maria (cuz it's not SM's "Maria")and Sean, but he's laughing at me for saying that…anyway, hope you like it.**

The Fight

Bella was quiet for most of the drive back. She sniffled a few times. I tried to get a little conversation going, but she only gave monosyllabic answers. I asked her to swing by the restaurant once more, so I could scarf another of those great burgers. Then we stopped quickly at a grocery store, and grabbed a few things for later. If there was a big fight coming up, I didn't want to be hungry. I know, sounds selfish. But hey—I needed to keep my strength up.

When we got back, Edward practically flew out of the house and over to the truck. He opened the door for Bella, and helped her out. They hugged, and I tried to keep my food down. He gave me a look which conveyed his thanks for bringing Bella back in one piece. I nodded and walked to the house, lugging my groceries. I set the bags on the porch, and leaned against the railing, watching Edward and Bella. I shook my head again. I just don't get it. Maybe I was jaded, because of my past. But mushy kissy—face stuff really bugged me for some reason. Please—they were like two highschoolers with a crush-we'd only been gone less than two hours, and they were clinging to each other like they had been separated for weeks.

"I can't see the wolves," said a voice from behind me. Alice walked over and stood next to me, watching Bella and Edward also. "He worries about her when she's there, because I can't see what will happen." She sighed wistfully. "True love...is there really such a thing?"

I glanced at her. "Why ask me? You should know—you've got Jasper, after all. Or was that a rhetorical question?"

She shrugged.

I looked back at the lovebirds. "The only romantic love I've ever experienced was unrequited. But I have to admit, very grudgingly, that those two there really do love each other."

I glanced at Alice. "Any new visions?"

She shook her head, a fearful look crossing her face. "For some reason, it looks the same. I can't understand it!" She looked at me. "Are you really going to be there tomorrow?"

I nodded. "Where else would I be? I can't fly, after all. And I can't run as far as you guys can. So yeah, I'm kinda stuck here a while longer. Besides, I…I really like you 'family' here. It's nice."

She turned to me. "All of us?" she asked in a timid voice.

I frowned. From what I'd seen, I wouldn't put "timid" and "Alice" together in the same sentence. It just didn't seem to be her personality. She was an emotional person, very passionate in her likes and dislikes.

"Well, yeah, of course all of you." I wasn't sure what she was getting at. Her face held that searching look again, like she was missing something, or confused. She almost looked—lost. Poor kid. I had an unpleasantly intense urge to hug her. But thank God I wasn't that impulsive. She'd probably karate chop me in half. And if she didn't, I was quite certain that Jasper would.

I don't really remember much of what happened the rest of the day. I know that most of the Cullens went "hunting" for several hours. Only Esme and Alice stayed home. And of course Bella. I hung around outside, and tried to keep to myself. After I ate supper (Bella said she wasn't hungry, although Esme and Alice tried to get her to eat something), I headed out to the woods to get ready for the next day. I assured them that I would be there. I told Alice and Bella to have Edward "call" when the Volturi showed up, and I'd shift on in.

Shifting is kind of like teleportation, I explained, but I could only do it for short distances. "Is there anything you _can't_ do?" Bella asked.

I smiled. "Yeah—lots of things. I can't fly, or jump over buildings. I can't shoot lasers out of my eyes. I can't control emotions, or change shape. And to real teleporters, my shifting ability is kid's stuff. So yeah, I'm not all-powerful. Not even close."

But I needed to concentrate hard to get ready for the next day, so I had to go off by myself. I couldn't have any distractions, and Alice was a big distraction. She'd been moping all day, sighing and wandering aimlessly around. Couldn't tell if she was sad, or angry, or scared, or what. I tried to ask Bella what was wrong with her, since the two of them were whispering a lot. But she brushed it off with vague comments about nerves over the coming battle.

I found a nice, quiet, relatively dry place a ways inside the forest, and out of sight of the house. Then, I just sat and emptied my head. That's the easiest way to explain it. Nothing fancy, I admit, but it usually worked.

The next thing I knew, it was Sunday morning. I stood and stretched. As Edward had not "called" yet, I headed slowly in the direction of the Cullen house. Then the call came. "They're here!" He practically shouted in my head. I shifted to the edge of the woods and stood there watching a few moments.

The Volturi had the house surrounded. I heard Carlisle's vain attempts at "negotiation, and heard the predictable response—no more extensions. Aro—whoever that was—had said Bella must be changed then and there, or killed. Edward had roared, the leader of the Volturi gang had smiled, and the battle started. I leaned adjacent a tree and watched a little longer, mesmerized by the scene. It was like some deadly ballet—almost beautiful.

Well, in a really sick, twisted way, of course.

The Cullens managed to take out one Volturi, and seriously injure another, but it was over quickly. All five Cullens were rapidly subdued, and the Volturi leader was yelling at the others to come out. Time for me to go.

Suddenly, Bella appeared on the porch, screaming something. Esme and Alice ran out behind her. I frowned. This wasn't how it was supposed to go. What the heck was she doing?! Stupid, blind reckless love! So much for trying to sneak in unnoticed.

The Volturi guy was saying something, but for some reason I couldn't hear him well. I was concentrating, and hoping I could shift to the porch...it was a little farther than I thought.

And then I was standing at the foot of the steps, right in front of Bella, and facing the Volturi guy.

"Hey—it worked!" I exclaimed.

The Volturi took a step back, and a couple were so startled that they actually let go of Emmett and Jasper. They in turn leaped on the ones holding Edward, and the three of them freed Carlisle and Rosalie.

But it was far from over. The Voltrui regrouped, and one of them said, "What do we do now, Felix?"

He scoffed. "This human trickster changes nothing! We still have a job to do, and we will do it for the honor of the Volturi!"

"Felix?!" I said, laughing. "_Felix_?! As in 'Felix the Cat'? What a joke! Who named you, your aunt Bertha? Seriously—your name is Felix?"

He growled at me. "I'll make your death slow, human!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Oh, will you now?" I taunted. "Well, maybe I'll just take and throw you into the fairy mountain at Kilarney! Lock you in with a gang o' Leprechauns. How would you like that?" I leaned towards him. "Course, you know that vampire abilities are no match against the power of the Faery! What would you do then, I wonder?" Obviously, I was bluffing. There was no way I could really get all the way to Kilarney in one jump.

So instead, I locked eyes with Felix (Felix-HA!). I hated to do this, but I was out of options. I knew I'd have one whopper of a headache tomorrow. Bus trips with headaches are no fun, believe me. Anyway, it was like everything else faded but him and me. I blocked out the fighting that seemed to be raging around me, and just stared at Felix. I don't know how long we stayed like that, pushing our wills against each other, but finally, just when I felt like I was going to pass out, Felix's mind snapped, and he fell flat on his face, kind of like a puppet with cut strings. I exhaled, sharply, and staggered back.

Abruptly, the fight seemed to stop. There were still several Volturi standing, but when they looked at Felix, they turned from the house and scattered into the woods. Emmett wanted to follow them, but Carlisle told him no.

I collapsed onto the porch. Edward hurried to Bella. They embraced and murmured to each other. Again. I was only dimly aware of all this, but suddenly one sound came clearly to my ears. And it pierced my heart. It was Alice, whose heart-wrenching sobs were coming from somewhere to the right. It had such an intense sadness that it almost sounded like the keening of a banshee. My eyes slowly focused on her. She was kneeling on the ground by Jasper, who was not moving and looked very torn up. The others gathered around, and Esme knelt beside Alice, cradling her in her arms.

My heart broke. Alice _had_ to be her happy self again. I had to see that smile back on her face, and the sparkle return to her eyes. Suddenly, nothing mattered to my pain addled mind but Alice's happiness.

I staggered over, and slowly knelt by Jasper. "Move back, please," I asked, looking up at the group. They all obeyed, silently, watching. Alice continued to cry, but at least her gut churning sobs had stopped. I Put my hand on Jasper's shoulder, and concentrated. Hard. After the thing with Felix, I wasn't sure if I could do this. My hand felt like it was on fire, and the heat spread through Jasper. It took every remaining ounce of thought I had, and several minutes. But he suddenly stirred, and opened his eyes. Then he smiled.

"What's going on?" he asked, sounding genuinely confused. "Why is everyone staring at me like that?" Alice flung herself on Jasper, and hugged him fiercely, saying his name over and over. I stood, and staggered. Someone reached out to steady me, but I shook the hand off.

"No, s'ok, I got it." I said, then fell backwards. Someone—I think it was Emmett—caught me before I hit the ground. Everything went black.


	9. Waking Up

OK, here's chapter nine. This little story is nearly over…just one more chapter to trouble you with. There IS a sequel written, as well, but since it seems next to know one is reading this, I'm not sure I'm going to post the sequel or not. I leave it up to you, dear readers…so leave a comment if you want the sequel to be posted as well. Waking Up

"AHHH! I'm awake! The answer is 42! Great Britain!" I yelled, sitting up quickly. I was in a bed, and the room was pitch dark. I mean, I could still see well enough, but it was what they call 'pitch dark'. I was breathing hard.

"Shhh! It's ok!" A voice said out of the darkness nearby. It was Bella. "You've been out cold for six days," she said softly. "We've all been taking turns sitting with you."

There's a disturbing thought. Then another one came into my mind. Six days? Then that meant... "Oh, man-you mean I missed the bus _**again**_?" I asked. Would I _never_ get out of here?

"Yep. Now you're stuck with us for another weekend!" She replied, smiling.

"Well, not like the last one, I hope," I replied as I started to get out of bed.

"Umm..." Bella began.

"What?" I asked. Then I looked down, and saw the state of undress I was in. Instantly, I dove back under the covers, pulling them up to my chin. "Heh-heh," I chuckled, totally embarrassed. "Umm, where are my clothes?"

"They got kind of—burned up, when you helped Jasper. There are some new ones over here on the foot of the bed. They're from Jasper. They'll probably be a little big on you, but otherwise O.K. Edward's clothes were a bit too small, since you're between his size and Jasper's. Esme figures a bit too big was better than a bit too small."

She stood. "I'll leave so you can get dressed, and go tell the others that you're awake now." She walked out and closed the door. I dressed slowly, not feeling like I wanted to go downstairs any time soon. Then I sat back down.

I'm not sure how long I sat there in the dark on the edge of the bed. But after a while, I heard a soft knock. Then the door opened. I didn't need to look...it was Alice. Well, if being alone in a dark room with Alice wasn't enough incentive to get me down the stairs, I didn't know what was. I stood, and she came into the room.

"Are you ok?" She asked. I hesitated a moment, then nodded. I headed for the door. She stepped in front of me, blocking the way. She stared at me, but I refused to meet her gaze.

"I-I wanted to thank you for how you helped Jasper," she said softly, looking down. I nodded again.

"You're welcome," I replied, somewhat curtly. Then I tried to step around her, but she again blocked my way. I stepped back and sighed.

"What?" I asked, again refusing to meet her gaze.

"I had another vision while you were asleep," she said, her face brightening. "It's about my future! Well, the future of my whole family, actually. And you were in it, too!" She stepped closer, until she was nearly touching me, and lowered her voice so that I could barely hear her. I realized she was probably trying to make sure her "family' couldn't hear.

"I don't think you'll be alone much longer," she breathed. "You see, like I said, I saw my whole family—all the Cullens with their true loves...Carlisle and Esme, Rosie and Emmett, Edward and Bella, me and—"

"Oh, just _**stop**_!" I practically shouted. "I gave you back your precious_ Jasper_! You don't have to rub my face in it! I didn't tell you all that about me so you could offer me a pity membership in your 'family'! That's what you meant, isn't it? That line about not being alone anymore? Is that the vampire way of saying, 'you're like a brother to me' or something? Thanks anyway! I'm leaving here as soon as I can, and all of your lives will return to normal again once I'm gone!"

"But—no! That isn't what I..." she began.

Ignoring her, I darted out the door, and headed down the stairs. The stricken look I'd seen on her face stabbed at me. I shouldn't have been so mean. But I couldn't take much more. Being around her—around all of them, around all the love in this house—was really getting to me, tearing open that old wound Bridgett had made, which had evidentially never quite healed after all. I had to leave.

As I entered the living room, I could feel all the Cullens' eyes staring at me. No one said anything. I gulped. I figured they must have heard my exchange with Alice upstairs, being vampires with super hearing and all. Besides, I had been pretty loud. Edward, as usual, was glaring at me. Man, just what exactly did he have against me anyway?

Carlisle and Jasper rose, and came toward me. And even Jasper was frowning at me. Good grief! I save his life, his little girlfriend has to rub my face in the fact that the two of them are soul mates (or whatever they call it), and _he _frowns at _me_? I shook my head.


	10. Leaving

**So, here is the last chapter, Kiddies. Yes, It's over. Like I said—there's a sequel all ready to go…so instead of "reviewing", just comment with either a "yes" or "no". Figure I'll give y'all the weekend to let me know if you want me to post it or not…haven't heard from anyone yet this entire story. But I hope it's at least brought a little enjoyment to someone out there.**

**Leaving  
**

"Sean, we can never thank you for all that you've done for us," Carlisle said, shaking my hand. "You saved us from horrible fates, drove off the Volturi, and healed Jasper. You'll always have a place with us, if you'd like to stay."

I heard Alice coming down the stairs behind me. Heck, I couldn't stay here. I couldn't be this close to—to _her_, and not get totally crushed again. Not that it was her fault, but still.

"Well, thank you, Carlisle. I'm glad I could help. Maybe it wasn't an accident that brought me here after all. But you all did a lot, too. It wasn't just me. I only handled that one guy, anyway. You and your family did all the rest." I paused a moment before speaking the thought that weighed so heavily on my mind. "And speaking of the Volturi, you _do_ realize this is just temporary, right? They'll be back. You _know_ they will."

Carlisle nodded sadly. "Yes. But still, thank you." He stepped back.

I looked around. Alice was standing next to Edward, who had one arm around her, and the other around Bella. Bella and Alice were looking at me sadly. Edward still glared. Ignoring them as best as I could, I asked, "Where's that Felix guy?" I couldn't help snickering at his name again.

Carlisle nodded to a door. "Down in the basement. We weren't sure what to do with him. His mind appears to be gone."

I flinched. "Yeah, I don't know what happened there. But I figure I'll take him home. Show the Volturi what happens when they bother my friends. Maybe that will make them think long and hard before attacking you again." I considered it, then added, "But maybe not. Never know."

Bella and Alice gasped. Emmett and Jasper exchanged looks.

Carlisle's eyes widened. "You can't be serious...marching into Volterra and confronting them alone?"

I smiled grimly. "Quite serious, as a matter of fact." Besides, I figured this way I wouldn't have to wait until Monday to leave. I could leave the next day.

Edward growled; seriously, he _growled_ at me. And out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him shake his head. Then I heard him...well, in my mind. _How can you do this? Don't you know you're killing her? She can't lose you both!_

_What? _I thought back, frowning._ Who in the world are you talking about?_

All I heard was a disgusted sigh.

Jasper stepped over to me, and we shook hands. "Thanks for bringing me back," he said.

"Don't mention it," I replied, my gaze flickering to Alice's face for a second. "It was the elast I could do." While her eyes looked heartbroken for some reason, I couldn't make out what other emotion was playing across her face. Fear?

Suddenly, Jasper leaned close and whispered, "You don't get it, do you? It's not what you think!" I threw him a confused look. "I'm going to Alaska. I was going to go before you even came!"

I shivered involuntarily. Alaska! To me, snow was also a four-letter word. I mean, Alaska is beautiful and all. I'd been there once. ONCE! And that was enough. Cold weather and I did not get along. "You can have it!" I replied. "Hope you have a good time anyway." Then I frowned. That must mean Alice was going, too. And if that were the case, maybe I would bring Maria and come live here. Well, if Edward could just chill out.

He groaned, and thought,_ Just how stupid are you? _

Ignoring Edward, I asked to use the phone, and made reservations for two to Rome for the next day. I also told them that my friend Felix was mentally challenged and would be on prozac for the flight. I didn't want to be insensitive to people who really did have mental problems, but I couldn't come up with a better excuse. I mean, what else was I going to do? Couldn't very well say, "He's a vampire, and I fried his brain!" They'd put ME on Prozac. The tickets were rather expensive, being on such short notice, but money wasn't really a problem. After 1700 years, I had plenty.

I hung up the phone, and turned to Carlisle. "I'll, ah, need a ride to Seattle," I said apologetically.

Before anyone else could offer, Alice yelled, "I'll drive him!"

Oh Lord. She'll drive me, all right—straight into insanity. Everyone in the room smiled, and looked at me. What the heck?

So it was that early the next morning, I found myself on a long drive with Alice, Felix drooling serenely in the back seat. We had taken someone's jeep because Alice's car had no back seat. We didn't talk much on the drive, which was weird considering how bubbly Alice usually is. I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. Maybe she wasn't thrilled with going to Alaska either. Can't blame her for that. And yet, I could feel tension in the air—most of it coming from me. I knew I should apologize for how I'd acted the day before. Yet I would never explain why...couldn't very well tell a married woman I had feelings for her. But earlier than I expected it, we were pulling up in front of the terminal.

Hoping she was just dropping us off, since she hadn't parked, I got Felix out and standing on the sidewalk. I walked him to the door, and turned to wave goodbye to Alice. She was standing right behind me. I jumped slightly, and her face got that impish grin back again. I was glad. She deserved to always be happy.

"I'll walk you in," she said cheerfully.

I glanced at the curb. "Um, what about your car?"

"What about it?" She smiled.

I gulped. "Uh, well, won't they tow it?"

She laughed lightly. "No, I don't think so!" She glanced back at the skycaps standing by her car, and smiled. They grinned back at her, and looked like they were actually guarding the jeep! We went up to the ticket counter and checked in. I knew now was the time to tell Alice how sorry I was for the way I'd acted toward her. As some attendants came and led Felix off to get through security and settled, I took a deep breath and turned to Alice.

"Look Alice," I began, but she put her finger on my lips.

"Shh! Me first! She laughed. I waited for her to say something, but instead she slowly leaned toward me. I slowly leaned back, until my head smacked the wall behind me. Alice kept leaning forward, and I tried to melt into the wall. It didn't work. Alice stood on her tiptoes, our faces mere centimeters apart. She smiled at me a few seconds, then whispered, "In my vision, I wasn't with _Jasper_!"

I stared at her a second, then my eyes widened in shock, as the meaning of her words sank into my thick head. "Y-Y-You mean," I stuttered, then I gulped. AGAIN!

Alice laughed sweetly. "Silly boy! Next time, let me finish telling you my vision before you react!" Her eyes held mine, and she leaned even closer. Then, she brushed her lips against mine. She stepped back, smiling serenely. "Be careful, and hurry home!" She said softly. Then she turned and danced back to the door. Before she went out, she turned again, and smiled. Waving, she blew me a kiss, and floated out the door.

I stood there in utter surprise, my head spinning. A guy standing nearby muttered, "Some guys have all the luck," his gaze following Alice. Then he gave me a dirty look and walked away. Numbly, I turned and headed through security, and then on to my gate. I was dimly aware of Felix sitting outside the gangway, smiling stupidly. I plopped down into the chair next to him. And suddenly, I was grinning from ear to ear, as they say. That empty place inside me was gone. Filled up with a flame that burned brightly, illuminating my mind and warming my entire being. I know it sounds sappy, but hey-that's how it felt.

I don't know how long I sat there, with that dopey grin on my face. Felix and I probably looked like twins. But I didn't care. I thought of how her cold, soft, beautiful lips had felt against mine. It had been a short, tender first kiss. But it held with a promise of more and better kisses to come. Many more. Her thoughts had betrayed her at that moment. I shuddered pleasantly in anticipation. My grin grew wider. Finally, our flight was called to begin boarding, and I stood, helping Felix to his feet as well.

"Well, Felix old pal," I said. "I hope my little errand with your friends goes fast. Suddenly, I want to get back here really, _really _bad!" Who knows? I might even make it back in time for Edward and Bella's wedding. Ugh. Now _that_ was a truly frightening thought.

"Hurry home!" Alice, my little Seraph, had said. Home. Yes, I liked the sound of that! And to think I had been angry because I had fallen asleep on the bus. Not anymore. Now, I was wonderfully happy. Beyond description. We turned, and boarded the plane


End file.
